Monster: The Ed Gein Story

What’s it about?

Monster: The Ed Gein Story is based on the real-life crimes of infamous serial murderer and “body snatcher” Ed Gein, also known as the “Butcher of Plainfield.”

Gein was known for digging up bodies and using their skin and bones to make things like furniture and clothes. His crimes inspired films including Psycho and Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

The facts

• Created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan
• Directed by Ian Brennan and Max Winkler
• Stars Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy), Suzanna Son (The Idol), Addison Rae (He’s All That), Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird) and Tom Hollander (The Night Manager)
• English language
• Runtime: 8 episodes, each around 1hr long
• This is the third season in the Monster series, following the Jeffrey Dahmer Story and the Erik and Lyle Menendez Story

Why did it get this rating?

This series was self-rated by Netflix. You can find out more about self-rating by streaming providers here.

Graphic violence

The series reenacts the real-life crimes of Ed Gein, including murder, body mutilation, and robbing graves. Certain scenes are extremely graphic, involving shots of human remains and gore, moments include:

• Multiple people are murdered with a chainsaw – one occurrence is ‘real’, while the other turns out to be a hallucination. These scenes are very disturbing.
• A nude woman is stabbed repeatedly in the torso and into her breasts. Lots of blood and injury shown.
• A woman’s dead body is shown several times, hanging upside down with her head cut off and a large gash down her middle. Her dismembered head and organs are shown in other scenes.

Horror

The series focuses on the disturbed mental state of Ed Gein and involves a fixation on his mother, mania, and psychosis.

There are many disturbing horror elements, including the killer skinning victims and turning them into costumes to wear, as well as skin being turned into objects like lampshades.

Sexual violence

There are scenes where a man is shown having sex with a dead body.

A man ties two women up and tells them he will rape them and then murder them. He is shown returning to their dead bodies and it is implied he has sex with their bodies.

Domestic violence

There are occasional scenes with domestic violence including a husband and wife hitting each other, and parents hitting children. 

Sex

There are sex and masturbation scenes in several episodes.

• Masturbation is implied through hand movement inside underwear. 
• There are sex scenes with breast and buttock nudity and sexual noises.
• A character is shown masturbating while wearing their mother’s clothing, and with a belt around their neck. This scene lasts around 10 seconds.

Discrimination

The series explores a character’s fascination with Nazi Germany and concentration camps. It includes black-and-white photographs of deceased victims from the camps. Some scenes show characters in Nazi Germany using dehumanising and discriminatory language about Jewish people, as well as acts of humiliation and cruelty.

A character frequently uses derogatory terms for women, referring to them as “harlots,” “whores,” “Pandora,” and “Jezebel.”

Another character experiences systemic discrimination for being gay, depicted within a historical context.

Offensive language

Offensive language includes: ‘F**k’, ‘mother**ker’ ‘sh*t’, ‘p*ssy’, ‘bullsh*t’, ‘bloody’, ‘b*tch’, ‘whore.’

Suicide

A character is shown hanging themselves. Their legs are shown as they stand on a chair, they knock the chair over and their legs are shown dangling. 

A character discusses a historical suicide where a woman drank bleach. 

Helplines:

Themes in this series, including sexual violence, could be upsetting for some viewers, especially for those who have gone through similar experiences. If you are struggling with what you have seen on-screen please reach out for help. If you or someone you know needs to talk:

• 1737
• Safe to talk
• Lifeline
• Youthline

Further information

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?

Images obtained from Flicks.co.nz